Hua Guofeng is the successor appointed by Chairman Mao, and has been elected as Premier of the State and Chairman of the CPC Central Committee.
During his eleven years of working in the central government, he has won the respect and love of the people across the country with his down-to-earth and hard-working personality, his serious attitude towards doing things.
Around 1980, Hua Guofeng gradually began to step down all his positions and lived a dull retirement life. So how did Hua Guofeng's life after retirement? What do you do every day?
Picture | Chairman Mao
Heroes are also the cutest people
In the history of our country, countless leaders have emerged. They are all parents and officials of the people. It is the people who spontaneously lift them up. They are dedicated to the people and have made great contributions to the people and China when they are in power.
When they retire, they are also very calm. They can let go of power and money, and no longer show off their past glory and past achievements.
As early as Before the founding of New China, Hua Guofeng made great contributions to our motherland and people. He has served as the Chairman of the Central Committee of our country and the Chairman of the Military Commission and other important roles, leading our country's continuous progress and development.
After the founding of New China, Hua Guofeng, firstly, to allow the country to develop better, and secondly, to allow more outstanding juniors to make better contributions to the country, he chose to retire and give the opportunity to the outstanding young people who later became outstanding.
After retirement, Hua Guofeng lived in an inconspicuous courtyard in Beijing. Since his retirement, he has always been living in and has never shown up easily, in order not to cause trouble to everyone.
Picture | Hua Guofeng
However, in order to take care of this former hero, the country still appointed him a secretary, who usually helped him handle some daily receptions and visitors. also had a chef and a guard squad to ensure his food, clothing, housing and transportation.
It can be said that Hua Guofeng's life after retirement is very simple. Read books and newspapers to learn about the latest information. will also practice calligraphy frequently to exercise his patience and body.
Later, according to secretary Cao Wangui's recollection, Hua Guofeng was unable to stop watching the news broadcast every night. can obtain international news and the development of various regions of the country from the TV.
When he is fine during the day, if his physical condition allows, he will often receive guests and chat with them.
pic | Cao Wangui
Although Hua Guofeng has retired and rarely goes out due to his health, there are many guests who want to see him.
And if these guests want to meet Hua Guofeng, they must make an appointment with their secretary Cao Wangui in advance so that the secretary can communicate with Hua Guofeng in advance and learn whether Hua Guofeng's physical condition on that day is suitable for receiving guests.
There are many people who often come to chat with Mr. Hua, such as former subordinates, former guards, and some old friends with the same calligraphy hobbies. also has descendants of leaders such as Chairman Mao and Liu Shaoqi. They often come to senior Hua Guofeng to learn from the scriptures.
Hua Guofeng smiled at everyone, which also made everyone think that he is an approachable old man. After , everyone likes to chat with him and have tea.
pic | Liu Shaoqi
The former combat hero turned into a "vegetable planter"
Later, Hua Guofeng's favorite thing was to manage the courtyard where he lived. He turned this courtyard from a bare courtyard into a small world full of spring.
Since Hua Guofeng moved into this courtyard in 1980, has been taking customers, reading books, and reading newspapers every day, and his favorite thing is to manage this courtyard.
First, it was the land reclamation of the backyard. Since the backyard is usually rarely visited, there is only one open space, but since he discovered the backyard, it was like he had picked up a treasure.
He then cleared the backyard every day, and at the same time surrounded the wall. He grew vegetables with such innate good conditions. In this way, various fruit trees were planted slowly in the backyard.
Picture | Siheyuan
Some customers may rarely visit Hua Guofeng because of their busy work. So when they came to Hua Guofeng's house again, they even thought they had walked through the wrong door and saw a green vegetable garden.
Everyone laughed and joked : "Old Hua, you can do a side job. When you have nothing to do, bring the vegetables to the market. Sell pure natural vegetables at a good price."
Hua Guofeng not only likes to play with fruits and vegetables, but especially likes to grow grapes. No matter which vegetable or fruit it is, he carefully cultivates and plants it.
, especially when entering the courtyard, the two very large grape trellis caught their eye. According to the secretary later recalled: ", don't underestimate these only two grape trellis. At most, fifty or sixty grape varieties were planted on it."
In fact, it was not accidental that Hua Guofeng liked planting so much. , but because he had served as the deputy minister of of the Ministry of Agriculture. can be said to be very worried about my country's agriculture and people's livelihood.
Take grape planting as an example. He went to the vineyard of in the suburbs of in Beijing, and went there to learn the technology and experience of planting. When saw that Mr. Hua came to study in person, everyone was flattered.
Picture | Vineyard
Didn't expect that Mr. Hua didn't have any airs, but was very modest and greeted everyone with a smile.
Every time there are guests at home, Hua Guofeng will pull the guests and first introduce his grape trellis. There are nearly fifty or sixty kinds of grapes. If it were someone else, it would be impossible to tell the difference.
However, Hua Guofeng is modest and studious, and is not ashamed to ask questions. With for many years, he quickly mastered the techniques and essentials of growing grapes.
and later, there were some agricultural bases specializing in planting fruit trees in Beijing. The staff in these bases would also come to exchange and discuss experience and skills in planting fruit trees with Hua Guofeng.
Hua Guofeng's granddaughter Su Jia also said that she once liked to stand under the grape trellis with her grandfather. She always kept asking about the variety of grapes, but her grandfather always told her the answer calmly.
Picture | Hua Guofeng
And in her heart, grandfather seemed to expect the future. Before the grapes grew, grandfather said what the grapes would look like.
At first, Wang Sujia didn't believe it, but unexpectedly, when the grapes grew, she found that it was really as what grandpa said, the shape and color were exactly the same as what grandpa explained, which was simply amazing.
is not only a grape, but also planted a variety of fruits such as apples and plums in Hua Guofeng's later life.
. As for these fruit trees, as long as Hua Guofeng's physical condition allows , he will do it himself. For example, he will calculate in advance when it is watered or when it is fertilizer.
When the specific day came, he and his wife went on the battle and took care of these fruit trees together. Sometimes the guard squad would help him together. After all, there were many people and powerful people. In this way, the fruit trees of gathered, and the entire courtyard house had hope and love for them.
Picture | Grape
When all the fruit trees are ripe, according to secretary Cao Wangui, the later courtyard was like a real immortal orchard: The whole yard is green, and after entering the yard, the path leading to the living room becomes a green corridor.
There are green gourd hanging on the corridor, and on both sides of the corridor, are green rape flowers on one side and beautiful red peppers on the other side.
Although the distance between the corridor is not very long, in summer, walking on such a corridor is simply a spiritual enjoyment, which is a unique pastoral scenery in the courtyard.
As Hua Guofeng's body gradually ages and the torture of illness, when he himself is no longer able to do so, he will ask his wife to take care of these fruit trees on his behalf, and usually prune and maintain them.
Picture | Hua Guofeng
The great heroes would have been "stricken" by his wife
However, although Hua Guofeng planted a lot of vegetables and fruits, he ate very little himself. In addition to leaving some of his family to eat the fruit trees in the garden, he would send all the rest to the military region troops and let the soldiers eat them separately.
He cannot eat the fruits and vegetables he grows because in 1988, he was diagnosed with diabetes .
He was conducting an inspection in Shanghai at that time. His stomach always hurt during that period. At first, he didn't agree. It was not until later when he went to the hospital for examination that he was diagnosed with diabetes.
Since then, his diet has been controlled by his family and doctors. is so strict that every meal, he can only eat a small bowl of rice or a small mouthful of noodles.
Picture | Hua Guofeng
During dinner, it is a bowl of rice soup or a bowl of porridge. Sometimes it is enough to eat only one sesame cake because his appetite is not very large.
Generally speaking, his breakfast is mainly milk. Sometimes the chef will make him an egg custard. In terms of , Hua Guofeng is the head of the family, and ordered everyone to open up land and grow vegetables together. This is the only way to be.
But in terms of diet, Mr. Hua is "stricken by his wife", which is impossible. For his health, his wife also strictly requires his diet.
Fortunately, Mr. Hua is not picky about his appetite. Although has many taboos after getting sick, he has never stopped eating because the food he cooked is not delicious.
Picture | Hua Guofeng
Although sometimes, also really wants to eat the food they like, because they are afraid of , they have to sulk with their wife.
Once, I finally made a dumpling. Because Mr. Hua prefers pasta, Mr. Hua was so happy and ate more than a dozen in one breath.
Just when he wanted to continue picking up dumplings, his wife moved the dumplings aside and refused to let him continue to eat them. Finally, he had to pester his wife and talked for a while before he was allowed to continue eating the last two.
Picture | Hua Guofeng and his wife Han Junzhi
Hua Guofeng, who loves pasta,
Strictly speaking, although Hua Guofeng settled in Beijing's courtyard in his later years, he was indeed a native Shanxi native. Hua Guofeng was born in 1921 and is a working-class family in Jiaocheng County, Shanxi.
Since 1938, he joined the anti-Japanese guerrillas in Shanxi and began his revolutionary journey. Since then, he has been starting revolutionary work in Shanxi.
So from this point of view, Hua Guofeng is a real Shanxi man. Naturally, his favorite food is Shanxi cuisine.
Picture | Shanxi cuisine
Chef Xie, who is responsible for cooking for Mr. Hua, once said: "His cooking for him can be said to be very simple. His diet taste is very simple, and his taste will not change for more than ten years."
Such as Shanxi ramen, knife-cut noodles , " cat ear ", etc., these typical Shanxi pasta are all Hua Guofeng's favorite pasta.
Even though he was in Beijing in his later years, he often asked some friends from Shanxi to bring some local specialties from his hometown. After all, he grew up eating pasta from his hometown. Even in his later years, he still cannot do without pasta.
. Master Xie is a chef who is specially assigned by the government to take care of Hua Guofeng. When he first entered the Hua family, Master Xie was not very good at making pasta. is Hua Guofeng's wife Han Junzhi, who taught Master Xie step by step how to make pasta.
Picture｜Han Junzhi
Han Junzhi and Hua Guofeng have been married for nearly 60 years. In her later years, she took care of Hua Guofeng more than anyone else. Sometimes she would often joke: "I am his free nanny and old nurse"
Because Hua Guofeng has severe diabetes, Hua Guofeng's diet is very fixed, and the amount is not large. For example, breakfast is simple milk plus a stir-fried onion, plus his favorite pasta, paired with a small steamed bun.
At noon, it is ramen, cut noodles, etc., which are his favorite pasta. As for the evening, it is a simple bowl of porridge or a bowl of porridge. Hua Guofeng has persisted with a simple recipe like
for more than ten years, and as he gets older, he has become sick. The more he reaches his old age, the more he strictly controls his diet.
Picture | Pasta
The noble Hua Lao
In his later years, Hua Guofeng practiced calligraphy in addition to taking care of the orchard, because he liked to practice calligraphy when he was a child. He often practiced with wooden sticks and on the sand. , but later he participated in the revolution and didn’t have much time to practice.
Until he retired, he could finally regain his brush, study calligraphy well, and do what he likes.
Hua Guofeng has his own study room. His habit is to go back to the study room to read newspapers and books after dinner. After doing all this, he spread rice paper , began to fiddle with his four treasures in the study, and constantly practice calligraphy writing .
pic | Hua Guofeng Mobao
1982, the calligrapher Han Xuewu visited Hua Guofeng. This person has nearly forty years of calligraphy experience. At the same time as , he was also a fellow villager in Shanxi of Hua Guofeng, and the relationship between the two was also very good. After meeting, Hua Guofeng took Han Xuewu to visit his study and took out a few very satisfactory works from the cabinet, asking this fellow villager who is very prestigious in the calligraphy world to help comment.
Han Xuewu was not artificial, but pointed out the advantages and disadvantages of the handwriting incisively: "Your words combine the depth of Yan style , and at the same time combine the firmness of Liu style , but only individual fonts, lack strength."
When he heard this, Hua Guofeng was very happy because he felt that he had met a confidant.
Picture | Hua Guofeng
It turns out that on weekdays, Hua Guofeng has no friends who understand calligraphy. Although he will give everyone a lot of fun to watch every time he finishes writing, the people around him are not big calligraphers, so naturally they can't give him a very professional comment.
In order to make the elderly happy, they can only keep praising the elderly’s profound calligraphy skills.
But as Mr. Hua, he wrote calligraphy not to make everyone praise it. he really liked calligraphy. Until Han Xuewu, a fellow villager, commented on professionally, made him feel that he had found a confidant.
and so later, every time Han Xuewu came to Beijing, he would go to Mr. Hua’s home to to share calligraphy skills and experience with him.
This incident spread among their old friends . Everyone laughed at him saying that Han Xuewu was Mr. Hua’s calligraphy teacher. Even Mr. Hua highly recognized Han Xuewu’s comments. However, Hua Guofeng, who loves calligraphy so much, announced his pen to be closed in 2002.
Picture | Hua Guofeng Mobao
It turns out that the elderly love calligraphy writing on weekdays and like to give them free calligraphy to those literati and poets who ask for words. As long as the other party comes to ask for words, Hua Lao will almost always answer the words and give them to the other party for free after writing.
However, in 2002, Mr. Hua learned from the soldiers of the guard squad that his calligraphy and paintings had become works sold on the market at high prices, and some people even imitated their handwriting to make it easy to sell for a good price.
When Mr. Hua learned about it, he was very unhappy. directly announced to the public that he had closed his writing and no longer wrote.
Because in the opinion of Mr. Hua, he really likes calligraphy, not in exchange for corresponding benefits, and should not be a tool for them to make profits. is an artistic defilement for Mr. Hua's calligraphy and painting, so Mr. Hua announced his closing.
Since then, the original works of Mr. Hua have been rarely seen on the market.
Picture | Hua Guofeng
is good at strategizing and caring for the country, and he is still frugal in a high position
Although Hua Guofeng is in a high position, he has always been very simple and is also very frugal in retirement.
There was once a former guard of Hua Guofeng. When he went to Beijing to visit Mr. Hua, he learned that Mr. Hua's clothes needed to be customized. After he went back, he customized several shirts for the old man. Unexpectedly, Mr. Hua insisted on giving money, otherwise he would not accept his clothes.
In desperation, the guard could only collect money from Mr. Hua. Hua Guofeng lives a simple life on weekdays, and at the same time, he also requires his children to be thrifty and manage their families.
In the words of this guard, it is difficult for Mr. Hua to associate with the powerful General Hua in his later years. In his later years, he is more like a simple old man.
Picture | Hua Guofeng
The end of the hero
2008, Beijing Olympics, Hua Guofeng was paying attention to this matter a long time ago, but his health was getting worse and worse at that time.
On August 1 of the same year, Hua Guofeng was discharged from the hospital. Everyone thought he could visit in person to watch the style of Chinese athletes.
But he was still unwilling to cause trouble for everyone, and just said: "I am an old man, it's very troublesome to go there, you can take a good look on my behalf."
Picture | Hua Guofeng
didn't expect it. After just a few days, Mr. Hua returned to his familiar bed again due to his worsening condition. Until August 8 of the same year, the opening ceremony of the Ao Games was held as scheduled, and Mr. Hua was unable to attend the scene in person. Perhaps this was the only regret in Mr. Hua's heart.
On August 20, 2008, Hua Guofeng died of illness. Mr. Hua was an older generation of revolutionaries in our country. In his later years, he was still concerned about national affairs. He once made great contributions to China's development, and his departure was also a loss of talent for our country.
His family respected Mr. Hua’s instructions during his lifetime and buried Mr. Hua’s ashes in Guashan, Jiaocheng County, Shanxi.
